New cell towers threaten Big Bend Wilderness – Take action before August 26

The threat of cell towers impacting the wilderness of Big Bend National Park is real and today the threat is knocking on the doorstep of the last great wilderness of Texas. My good friend Betty Alex who is a retired longtime biologist working at the park, posted all the facts below.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW Before the August 26 deadline and carefully read the instructions below. As you will see this is not simple request to take action. Please do you best.

IF YOU LOVE THE BIG BEND, especially our beautiful DARK skies, PLEASE, PLEASE, read this. A cell tower company is planning two towers in the Study Butte/Terlingua area. These would be 270-foot tall towers with LIGHTS on top. One is in Study Butte near the existing, much shorter tower and is only 1.5 miles from the park boundary and only 2.5 miles from the park west entrance. The second tower is 1.0 mile from the Starlight Theatre on “Moon Hill”, the ridge behind Terlingua Ghostown.

Everyone who cares a whit needs to write one paragraph (or more) basically defining how this will CHANGE the area and HURT the economy, the environment, you personally, or whatever rings your chime—FACTUALLY. “I don’t like lighted towers” won’t fly. That is an opinion and they will throw it out. FACTS LIKE: This will ruin my western view when I use my 12” telescope; this will impact my income because this will diminish the number of night sky visitors and cause….

The two major issues:

1) Both parks are designated by the International Night Sky Association as a Gold Tier Night Sky Parks; this is the largest contiguous area of protected night skies in North America! This brings in many of the 400,000 visitors to Big Bend National Park and many to Big Bend Ranch State Park. FACTS, FACTS, FACTS.

2) The entire economy of the area totally depends on tourism, meaning that damaging the Dark Night Sky will impact the economy. If you will be directly impacted, include that. FACTS, FACTS, FACTS.

There are other issues, plants, historical context, etc. Just make the argument on facts.

MORE responses are always preferred because they know that every response represents LOTS of people who feel the same way that didn’t respond. TALK TO PEOPLE. Get them to write something. Call me and I’ll walk you through posting it. Please.

If you want an easier-to-access version of these instructions, PM me with your email and I will send it you in WORD (silverlacelady@gmail.com)

We (mostly Malynda Richardson) have ironed out some details on the PUBLIC NOTICES for the two proposed cell towers in Terlingua/Study Butte.

As it stands, the deadline is August 26. That may change, but let’s go with that for now.
This is not an easy or clear-cut process so thanks for staying with it.
We have looked at some of the requests for environmental review that have been submitted and many of them lack important details without which will be rejected. We can’t do anything about those but moving forward I can help. If you have already submitted one. Thanks!

They have remarked that they have not seen these many comments in such a short period of time in a while. So, this is really important!

If you want assistance submitting a request for an environmental review send Amber your letter draft in an email at: harrison.arh@gmail.com – please put your name in the subject line and she’ll take it from there. Of course, if you’re confident in the process and requirements, you don’t need help. I may take Amber some time to respond, but we’ll get it in on time.

Contact me or Amber Harrison, or Malynda Richardson with any questions. We may also set up a time to meet with people in person, but we don’t have a date yet.

DIRECTIONS:
Follow these directions closely:
File Environmental Request On or before the end of the 30-day posting period on the FCC website, you may submit a Request for Environmental Review if you believe that a proposed tower or tower modification may have a significant impact on the environment. You must serve a copy of your Request for Environmental Review on the applicant. Late-filed Requests for Environmental Review may be subject to dismissal.

Your Request for Environmental Review must state the specific reasons that you believe the proposed construction may have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, as required under the Commission’s rules, and also provide contact information for the person making the request. A Request should be supported by factual detail with respect to the location, nature, and extent of any potential significant impact.

After the end of the 30-day posting period, the applicant will have 10 calendar days to oppose your Request for Environmental Review. You will then have 5 business days to file a reply. If the Commission agrees that the proposed construction may have a significant environmental impact, we will require the applicant to file an EA or to supplement an existing EA.

Steps to File a Request for Environmental Review in the ASR System
1. Compose the text of your Request for Environmental Review and save it as a document on your computer. BE SURE TO PUT THE DATE ON THE DOCUMENT AND SIGN IT ELECTRONICALLY (type your name). IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS THEY WILL THROW IT OUT!!!! You may use Word or any number of other popular formats. You will also have an opportunity to attach photographs or other materials in separate documents.
2. From the link above, scroll down the page until you see 2. Go to the Pleadings Page. Click on the Pleadings Page link.
3. Select the Pleading Type “ASR Environmental Notice” from the dropdown box.
4. Enter your Filer and Contact Information and click Continue.
5. Click the File Number button.
6. Enter the ASR File Number associated with the application you are challenging in the box and click Submit. IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST file a separate Request for Environmental Review for each tower. There are some differences in the issues. The numbers are A1107618 (Ghostown) and A1107619 (Study Butte).
7. Check the box next to each File Number and click Continue.
8. Select the Type of Pleading, Browse the location to upload the pleading, enter a Description of the pleading (a title for your letter), and click Add Attachment.
Note: Repeat Step 8 for each separate file you want to upload.
9. Click Submit Pleading.
Note: The FCC’s rules require you to send a copy of the Request and any attachments to the Applicant the same day the Request is filed. You can e-mail, fax, or mail a copy to the Applicant using the contact information that is provided in the Application. The email address is: melisa.holley@altatowers.com